Mission Investing in People Goal

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 000062 SIPDIS AID/W FOR SCAA/FLYNN FULLER ALMATY FOR USAID E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID KHIV SOCI ELAB SCUL TI SUBJECT: Mission Investing in People Goal ¶1. Introduction and Summary: A recent review of the Mission Strategic Plan provided a snapshot of what we achieved in the last year and our top priorities looking ahead. This is the third cable to provide a goal-by-goal look of what Embassy Dushanbe is doing. With our Investing in People goal we seek a healthy, educated workforce that supports economic growth, reduces the appeal of extremism and engages in civic affairs. We support public health system reform and policies to improve safe motherhood, newborn care, and management of childhood illnesses, HIV/AIDS, drug demand, and tuberculosis. We train teachers, boost community involvement in schools, expand exchange programs, and work to improve education finance, school curricula, and student assessment. We coordinate with other donors to leverage U.S. resources. Among our key achievements, we opened new health centers providing training in primary healthcare. We helped Tajikistan secure resources for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. We made progress in improving educational finance, teacher training and primary school curriculums. We expanded exchange programs. In 2009 we will continue to open new health centers, train more teachers, expand education finance pilots and send more people on exchanges. Post will conduct the second year of mentoring for Tajik English teachers and we will use a regional English Language Teachers' conference in Dushanbe in June to improve English teaching methodologies and build networks among regional teachers. We will work to bring the Peace Corps to Tajikistan to support English education. High turnover in the health and education sectors is a major obstacle to achieving more progress. On the bright side, the government has supported getting more local ownership of health and education programs. End Intro and Summary. Achievements ¶2. We executed Memoranda of Understanding with the Ministries of Health and Education on our assistance for reforms in the health and education sectors, including assistance with Global Fund and Fast Track Initiative grants. Our support for Tajikistan's TB and HIV applications to Global Fund resulted in conditional approval of awards totaling over $70 million. We helped improve hygiene and health facilities in eighty schools in the Khatlon region. With Mercy Corps, we launched a new multi-million dollar, multi-year program to improve maternal and child health. We opened new healthcare Centers of Excellence in Istravshan and Panjakent that trained doctors in those regions in family medicine and the delivery of quality healthcare services. ¶3. We revised teacher training modules in math, biology, chemistry, language, and general education and submitted them to the Education Ministry. We helped 28% of the districts in the country to adopt new school finance mechanisms to expand per capita school financing. We started a Fulbright Foreign Student program for Tajikistan that will send six Tajikistanis to the United States for masters degrees this year. We increased professional exchange participants through Open World and Community Connections. We provided in-depth training for twenty high school teachers, including a three-week course with visiting experts from the University of Montana. We awarded ten four-year scholarships to talented Tajik students the American University of Central Asia. A Defense Department Civil Affairs team renovated the Qumsangir Boarding School for homeless children, the Qrenovated the Qumsangir Boarding School for homeless children, the Teacher Training Institute in Khujand, and secondary School #17 and the School for the Blind in Isfara Teacher Training Institute so the schools could function year-round. Goals ¶4. After conducting baseline surveys in 2008, with USG funding Mercy Corps will open new maternal and child health sites in three towns in the Sughd region. We will hand over quality assurance responsibilities for microscopy tuberculosis tests to oblast-level specialists. We will provide educational exchanges and material to heighten HIV/AIDS awareness in the armed forces and supply office and medical equipment for HIV/AIDS testing centers at the national and regional medical departments of the Ministry of Health. We will look at ways to strengthen coordination and oversight of the use of Global Fund monies to address HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. ¶5. We will finish revising new curriculum modules for primary grades in math, Tajik language and general education, and we will train mentors. We will review the school management training module for school principals that includes guidance on per capita financing, budget formation, human resources, documentation, and strategic and business planning. We will assess needs and integrate innovative student-centered teaching methods into the teacher training curriculum. We will work with the Ministries of Education and Finance, World Bank, the Aga Khan Foundation and Education Finance Working Group to revise per capita parameters and approve budgets for pilot schools. We will launch the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program to bring a U.S. professor to Tajik university classrooms. We will repeat the very successful 2008 summer camp program to share DUSHANBE 00000062 002 OF 002 American values, teamwork, leadership, and basic English language instruction with Tajik youth from isolated rural areas. We will expand overall the number of participants in exchanges shooting for a target of 200. We will use the Central Asian Teachers of English Conference in June as a platform to promote English-language learning in the region, to identify and develop the most effective methodologies, build networks among regional teachers, and highlight the contributions of Peace Corps volunteers as English teachers in Central Asia. We will work to increase coordination among the stakeholders, donor community and international organizations in both the education and health sectors. Obstacles and Positive Developments ¶6. All education programs - whether nationwide reform initiatives, exchange programs for U.S. professors or students, or informal talks by embassy personnel about U.S. society - require explicit approval from the Minister of Education. This bureaucratic structure combined with our limited access to the Minister of Education affected our ability to move some education reform issues. There is some chance that the Minister will move on in 2009; if so we will work to build a strong relationship with his successor and to encourage more decentralized decision-making. High turnover in state structures and the low capacity of government staff at all levels limit what we can achieve. The Tajik government tends to focus its efforts on getting short-term humanitarian assistance rather than using development assistance to solve problems. On the bright side, the government is willing to work with the international community to strengthen the management of technical and financial support and the government has been willing to approve projects that promote local ownership and sustainability. Washington approved funds to add local staff which will allow us to increase activities and outreach with students and U.S. program alumni. JACOBSON